Budget 2011: Buy-to-let opportunities opened up by stamp duty reforms

The Coalition has identified buy-to-let as a way of solving Britain's housing shortage and wants to attract investment into residential property by major institutions, such as pension funds, and landlords.

Buy-to-let has a controversial reputation after investors piled into the market before 2007 with cheap mortgages seeking to take advantage of rising house prices, only to dramatically come undone when values began to fall.

However, the Chancellor believes that promoting the private rental sector as a solid form of income for investors can boost homebuilding. Read More: